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Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Sumit Mullick as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to succeed Swadheen Kshatriya whose extended tenure ended on the same day. Mullick was the Additional Chief

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Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday appointed senior IAS officer Sumit Mullick as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to succeed Swadheen Kshatriya whose extended tenure ended on the same day. Mullick was the Additional Chief Secretary of the protocol department — a post that he will continue to hold as full additional charge till further orders.

Dr M G Thamizh Valavan, has been awarded the Presidential Award of Appreciation on the occasion of Republic Day 2017. He belongs to the PGPPM batch of 2013 -2015 from IIMB. Graduated (B.V.Sc) from Madras Veterinary College in 1989 and he did

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Dr M G Thamizh Valavan, has been awarded the Presidential Award of Appreciation on the occasion of Republic Day 2017. He belongs to the PGPPM batch of 2013 -2015 from IIMB. Graduated (B.V.Sc) from Madras Veterinary College in 1989 and he did his Masters in Economics (M.A) at Annamalai University in the year 2008.

He was an officer of 1995 batch of Indian Revenue Services and presently, he is working as a Director in Central Board of Excise and Customs. Previously he has worked as an Assistant/ Deputy / Joint/ Additional Commissioner in Central Excise and Customs and as an Additional Director in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence as under Secretary CBEC.

He underwent training and capacity building programs from premier and international institutes like - IIMB, IIML, Maxwell School, London School of Economics, Judge Business School and Nyenrode University. He has also participated in multicultural training programs and workshops in countries like - Colombo, Nairobi and Prague.

Sangeeta Devni is selected for International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)

Sangeeta Devni

MPWE 2009Deputy Manager,NASSCOM

Sangeeta Devni is selected as one of the participants for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on “Managing Start-up Incubators for Growth” which will take place in the United States from November 26 –

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Sangeeta Devni is selected as one of the participants for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on “Managing Start-up Incubators for Growth” which will take place in the United States from November 26 – December 17, 2016.

The IVLP is sponsored by U.S. Department of State, which selects emerging professional from various countries.

As part of this Program She will be travelling to Austin, Boston, Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. to meet the professional counterparts to understand the startups culture there and best ways to collaborate.

Distinguished Alumni Awardee 2016

Haragopal Mangipudi

PGSEM 2001CEO & MD,finUNO

Haragopal (aka Hara) is currently CEO & MD of finUNO. He founded a twin-engine startup in US & India simultaneously and Co-created world’s first multi-modal Intelligent Financial Assistant which was launched at the Global

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Haragopal (aka Hara) is currently CEO & MD of finUNO. He founded a twin-engine startup in US & India simultaneously and Co-created world’s first multi-modal Intelligent Financial Assistant which was launched at the Global Intelligent Assistance Conference in NYC. Forrester mentioned finUNO as one of the global top 3 innovations in the financial services & customer experience.

Hara was previously Global Head of Finacle, Senior Vice President and Member of the Executive Council at Infosys Ltd. Hara and team co-created India’s first world-class software product – Finacle, touching more than 848 million end-consumers across the globe - estimated to be nearly 16.5 percent of the world’s adult banked population across 84 countries and six continents. During his tenure, Finacle had been consistently recognized as a leader in the banking platform space – ahead of global ERP majors like SAP and Oracle.

Hara is a regular speaker at global forums like World Economic Forum (WEF), European Financial Management Association (EFMA), and Bank Administration Institute (BAI). He has a patent filed in the software and business frameworks. He has presented papers at industry conferences like the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) and contributed to / written about in various reputed journals such as The Banker, Banking Technology, and Bank Systems & Technology.

Hara is the founder trustee of Givemore Foundation which runs a day school from grade 1 till grade 10 for urban slum children.

Distinguished Alumni Awardee 2016

Ramesh Srinivasan is currently CEO of Ooyala Inc. and oversees all aspects of Ooyala's strategy and operations.

Ramesh is a veteran leader and innovator, with a passion for technology and a strong track record in scaling public

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Ramesh Srinivasan is currently CEO of Ooyala Inc. and oversees all aspects of Ooyala's strategy and operations.

Ramesh is a veteran leader and innovator, with a passion for technology and a strong track record in scaling public companies. His personal journey is a compelling one: He graduated from the prestigious IIT (Engineering) and IIM (Management) institutions in India, then started his career in general management before switching to application software. Ramesh began his US career in Sept, 1988 as an application software programmer and then advanced to executive positions at major corporations like Manhattan Associates and Bally Technologies.

Before joining Ooyala, Ramesh was President and Chief Executive Officer of Innotrac, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions for digital retailers, where he oversaw the company's merger with eBay Enterprise. He also spent nine years with Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI – later merged with Scientific Games), maker of advanced technology-based casino games and systems, where he rose from Executive Vice President for Systems to President and COO and then to CEO. During his tenure, the annual revenue run rate for the company grew from $500 million to $1.2 billion, while its share price increased eight-fold. Prior to joining Bally, Ramesh was EVP at Manhattan Associates (Nasdaq: MANH), a premier Supply Chain Solutions Provider. During his seven years at Manhattan, Ramesh’s results-based performance led his to his elevation from Director to Senior Director, VP, SVP and EVP, while the company’s annual revenues grew by approximately 500%. At Manhattan, Ramesh was responsible for building a world class Product Development and Support Center in Bangalore, India and his leadership in multiple areas, including cost effective Global R&D, Customer Support, Professional and Technical Services was instrumental in positioning Manhattan as a technology industry leader.

A Green Warrior

Jyotsna Sitling

PGPPM 11,

An entire mountain region would have been left to deteriorate into a plastic garbage dump. A National Park would have been shamefully left to a degenerate, unable to gain the recognition worth its value. A hill range would have lost an

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An entire mountain region would have been left to deteriorate into a plastic garbage dump. A National Park would have been shamefully left to a degenerate, unable to gain the recognition worth its value. A hill range would have lost an unbelievable amount of soil cover and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of people. All this if Jyotsna Sitling had not done some of the most admirable jobs in public service!
She’s India’s first female tribal IFS officer, genuinely passionate about the environment, who has carried her spirit for work over the years to become the recipient of the paramount honour for environment conservation in India – the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar. Not many would have expected Jyotsna, hailing from a nondescript village in Bengal, to move the mountains. And she indeed did move the range of Himalayas in Uttarakhand away from the course its fate was fast running into.
It was back in 2002 that Jyotsna joined the Nanda Devi Biosphere in Uttarakhand, as its Director. 5800 acres of land to manage, with two national parks and a sanctuary to revive, and closely intertwined livelihood of people – a short and sweet Jyotsna saw challenges hurled at her in abundance. She had the toughest of jobs in the most beautiful of lands.
The Valley of Flowers National Park, an unmatched landscape with the rarest of flora and fauna, hosts a buffer zone with a 19-km trail that leads to Hemkund Sahib, the highest Gurdwara in the world. The breath-taking trail was literally breath-taking, stinking as it was, with plastic and other dumps that the pilgrims left behind remorselessly for three decades. Jyotsna decided to start vigorous campaigns by involving the local community. She called for a garbage collection initiative by the community and to her surprise they collected 15 truckloads of garbage weighing up to 50 tonnes! The entire mass was sent for recycling and the valley started getting rid of its pollutants.
Now redemption for the past mistakes was achieved, but sustaining this achievement for the future needed some more things to change. The next task was to regulate the 400 odd unorganized shops that massively contributed to polluting the trek trail to the Gurdwara. But the shops couldn’t be ruthlessly removed. And environment conservation is not the easiest of things to speak about when livelihoods are at stake. Adding to it, the forest officials and the local community were not on the best terms. So there Jyotsna was – with the tasks of bridging the animosity to build a relationship with the people, working out the reversal of the damage done to the environment and helping develop the quality of lives of the people.
Jyotsna studied the issue with putting both the environmental conservation and the livelihood of the people at equal priority. And when she combined both, the result was economic gain for the people and conscious and sustainable conservation for the environment.
She sat down with the shop owners for convincing them to reduce the number of shops to one per family. She explained that their incomes were getting grossly divided and the environment was also suffering. She literally spent six to seven continuous days and nights to explain, convince and take people into confidence to finally agree to her plan. There was tremendous difficulty in deciding who gets which land. But at the end of it all, the number of shops came down from 400 to 76 – a huge relief for the Valley of Flowers, and people were happy to see that Jyotsna’s idea worked well for them. Notably, Jyotsna was successful in making the hostility between the forest officials and the people fade away.
Jyotsna put in many checks so that what was achieved was not lost in the years to come. She put the systems into place for responsible tourism through an Eco Development Committee (EDC) of the local stakeholder villagers. The Eco fee that she introduced helped in bringing funds for cleaning operations and for building systems on green value chain for services to the pilgrims without depending on government funds. She worked out insurance policies for the pilgrims. This generated a continuous influx of money for the sustenance and development of the region. Many small businesses for the service of pilgrims, like renting plastic coats, were introduced such that more income-generating opportunities were created thus linking livelihood concerns of locals with the conservation realities of the area.
Jyotsna distilled her experience on the effect of mountaineering activity on the environment during her tenure as Director, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (2002 to 2004) and put together an entire guideline for mountaineering in Uttarakhand in 2004. This guideline is first of its kind in any state in India. She says it’s all about making the markets work for environment and making the community the real stakeholders.
Concurrently, she also carried out many other activities to rejuvenate the face of the Valley of Flowers National Park. The crowning glory came when all these efforts led to the declaration of the Park as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005.
Another of Jyotsna’s major initiatives between 1997 and 2000 was in the erosion-prone zone of the Shivalik range near the Doon Valley. She mobilized a community of nearly eleven thousand people across 82 villages to spend at least 1 day in a year for the restoration of their villages. Together they planted 3,82,000 plants and sowed over 70 kgs of seeds of various plant species, saving the fate of the villages that lay close to 358 strategic erosion-prone locations. What could be said about the impact of this incredible act of service?
She’s done some of the most incredible works ever for the environment in our country. But she’s not the one who’d take her successes to her head. She’s a powerhouse of unstoppable energy who constantly traverses that extra mile to do extraordinary work. Jyotsna, an alumna of IIM Bangalore, today is the Project Director of Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas, Uttarakhand. She is 49 and chose to stay single. She has adopted the family of her caretaker maid. The family lives with her and Jyotsna takes great interest in the education of their son.
Last year Jyotsna met with an accident causing her head injuries that left her with 16 stitches and many months for recovery. But this is what she says – ‘It was actually an enriching experience to go through the after-effects of the accident and recovering from it!” She’s unbelievably awesome!

Our Very Own Ten Pin Champion

Swapna Mitra

PGP '99Consultant,Cricinfo.com

There is something about Swapna Mitra PGP '99. A creation in contradiction. You will find her working her way through her career as all of us would, and going through all the nuances of the working life. But place her in front of ten

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There is something about Swapna Mitra PGP '99. A creation in contradiction. You will find her working her way through her career as all of us would, and going through all the nuances of the working life. But place her in front of ten pins in a bowling alley, and she can roll a mean ball to knock 'em down!
Swapna is one of the many alumni who took a detour from their professional lives to explore something different - in her case, to pursue bowling and earn a place in the national team and in the contingent for the 2010 Asian Games. A decision that soon led her and her team to win an international medal in bowling for the country! Graduating from Delhi University with a Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Swapna came to IIMB in 1997, a decision she says was one of her best. "IIMB definitely was a turning point in my life. Met a lot of people, grew up a lot here.

There are so many things that I remember about IIMB - getting reprimanded for being half asleep at an early morning class, the cheese Maggi at the NC, life at B-Top, the Computer Centre (CC )for all the group projects and more importantly the Age of Empires matches, managing to get both my feet in plaster casts (thankfully at different times), coordinating movie ticketing at Rex and the now defunct Galaxy and Plaza theatres, the
L-square parties... I could go on!," said a nostalgic Swapna. Once the schooling got over, Swapna quickly worked her way around the corporate world and found herself in cards banking in Chennai. "I worked in the credit cards product function for a couple of years and then in theeBusiness function for over three years. It was around this time I realised that I was enjoying working on the online / digital medium." It was during this time that she fell in love with bowling.
"Chennai being a relatively easy going city, I also found time to indulge in a lot of other activities, and it is here that I picked up bowling. I also learned guitar from a music school for a brief while, and even took part in a reality show on ESPN!" said Swapna.

She had always had a platonic relationship with sports. In other words she followed sports avidly in her younger days. "The sports page was pretty much all I read in the papers when I was growing up! Apart from the obvious international cricket and tennis grand slams, I used to follow domestic cricket and table tennis too - in fact I knew of Tendulkar and Kambli from their school stints and of Dravid, Ganguly and VVS through their domestic and u-19 stints," said Swapna.

So how did she enter into the world of bowling? "There was a bowling alley near my work place and a few colleagues suggested we go there for a few games. I was actually diffident as all my previous attempts had led to my landing the ball into the gutter! However, one lady colleague got a lane marshal at the alley to talk me through the basics," she said. And that's all it took to iron out the creases in her bowling skills. Soon, she and the same colleague won doubles at an intercorporate event. That had the state bowling association take notice, and soon they were invited to participate in a short term training camp.

During this camp that Swapna learned the hook style of bowling - the most prevalent style when the sport is played at competitive levels, and what one usually sees on the telly. "Before I knew it, I was enjoying the game and the thrill that came with being one of the better bowlers in the country," she added.

A short hiatus:

Interestingly, in spite of doing well in bowling, the sport soon took a backseat in her life. "I changed jobs
and moved to Bangalore, and bowling took a backseat for a bit while I tried to settle into the new life.
Soon, a player notified me of the Nationals taking place in Bangalore, and I thought of dropping in. The
Karnataka State Tenpin Bowling Association then invited me to train with their team," she said. The association had an ongoing training program led by a former international player from Malaysia. Swapna would train with them for four days a week after work. "The ongoing coaching actually helped improve my game and I finished in the top five in that nationals, and then third in the following team championships. This gave me a further impetus to understand the game more and I continued my training with the state association."

Rolling away from Corporate life:

Then somewhere in 2009, Swapna took the decision to make Tenpin Bowling her full time occupation for a while. "The Tenpin Bowling Federation (India), invited me to be part of the coreprobables training program in preparation for the Asian Games. The Federation had received the backing of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and had planned an extensive and rigorous program, which would require constant travelling to Malaysia as well as travelling to various international opens for exposure prior to the Asian Games. This program would form the basis of selecting the team for the 2010 Asian Games.

"The possibility of being part of the team to the Asian Games was a huge opportunity for me - I wanted to at least try! I realised, though, that I could not be true to both my work and games. It was not an easy choice to take - I had never been unemployed after IIMB! However, I also knew that I did not want to look back regretfully and say 'If only…', My fiancé and family also went fully on board with my decision," she added.

Asian Games and the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship:

Speaking about the Asian Games, Swapna said, "The Asian Games in Guangzhou was a completely different scale altogether. Sportspersons of all disciplines from the majority of the Asian countries, all at one place - the scale is just huge. We also got to see the strict rigour and discipline displayed by other sports persons. SainaNehwal on the treadmill at a steady pace for 45 minutes and perhaps more was inspiring. So was seeing other players do similar early morning routines as what we did. We were there when Somdev Devvarman won the men's Gold in tennis, and we spoke with Pankaj Advani when he got India its first gold at the Games. We stayed in the same building as Vijender Singh and Mary Kom! It was surreal," she gushed.

Though Swapna's team did not script a win in the Asian Games, it sure laid the foundation for what can be
considered a fairy tale outing in the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship, the next major international event on the calendar. Swapna was part of the team that won Bronze in the Team of Four event, a
major milestone for the sport in India.

"We had to play six games together, and the total would determine the rankings. We started steadily in the first two games, staying around the fifth position. It was in the third game that we all took off as a team, Recalling the moment, Swapna said, "By the time we came to Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championship in Malaysia, we were very comfortable playing among the biggies. Our performance in the events prior to the Team of Four was encouraging, although we hadn't made the big impacts yet. Going into the final Team of Four event, the entire team wanted to give it its best shot. One of our teammates, decided to mimic the speech from the movie Chak De India, which helped lighten the mood immensely.

Each one of us was scoring high. At the halfway point, we found ourselves third on the leader board. Suddenly all eyes were on us, almost urging us to sustain the momentum for following three games and create an upset. We kept our position for another two games, leaving the much fancied Australia and England teams to try and overtake us in the one last game. The pressure was on, and in true filmy style, it had come down to the last frame for all of us. At my turn, I had one stable roll, however, my final throw was weak, leaving my colleague to be as accurate as he could. As destiny would have it, he probably rolled the best shot he played in the entire tournament, scoring a strike and conclusively shutting the door on our chasers. Our Federation and teammates behind us screamed in joy. Until then, I had personally refused to calculate the scores, not wanting to jinx the moment! But when that scream erupted, we had actually lived out our dreams: to win a medal for the country. We had given India a major milestone - it was the first time in nine years that India had won an international medal in the sport! It was fascinating that we had the maximum support from the local audience as well as players from Singapore and Malaysia. They had seen us train in Malaysia and play in the Asian circuit so often, that they were genuinely happy for our achievement. To get that kind of reception at an away location, that just sweetened the win."

Swapna has since married the aforementioned fiancé, Shashank Kothi, from PGP 2000 batch. The couple is based in Bangalore. Her parents are in Delhi while her sister works in the television industry in Mumbai. She has also returned to the working life and is enjoying it.

Life Defined By Choice

Aparna Viswanathan

Management Program for Women Entrepreneurs 2010Director,RACE

Born and brought up in a beautiful and one of the remotest villages in Kerala, India, I grew up dreaming of becoming different things at different stages in life, until the time came to make my choice and I made mine. I decided I wanted to

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Born and brought up in a beautiful and one of the remotest villages in Kerala, India, I grew up dreaming of becoming different things at different stages in life, until the time came to make my choice and I made mine. I decided I wanted to become a journalist and my journey to accomplish my dream or goal started hence. Coming from a rural background, I had strong and weak points and it took me considerable time and effort to polish and get myself adept to the changing surroundings and cultures I was thrown into, from time to time during and after secondary education. I learnt the tricks of competing shoulder to shoulder with people from urban backgrounds and in the process raised my own bar of performance and competency. Sooner or later my name started reflecting in the credits of news bulletins and programs thus fulfilling the long nurtured wish of mine. I continued the journey as a news anchor and journalist living my dream but unknowingly nurturing another dream that sprouted during my journalistic career. But the fear of leaving a monthly pay cheque or giving up the recognition I was enjoying held me back from taking my latent dream to fruition. Shedding the inhibitions and fear, one fine morning, I decided to be brave and bold. To leave all the pleasures of the current job and position and make the right choice in life- Of becoming a social Entrepreneur. The journey since then has been a completely different one.

RACE was started with a vision of bridging the gap between the needy and the powerful. I found, there were lakhs of people like me coming from rural backgrounds for whom the urban space was more a cultural shock which they found difficult to get acclimatized to. I could easily relate to their helplessness, and also to their thirst to excel and passion to fulfill their dreams. RACE's mission and vision was beginning to take shape and wings then. We continue our mission of bringing smiles to unknown faces through our communication and cross cultural workshops.

While I am stationed in the city, I continue my trips to the rural villages not in pursuit of the beauty of nature but in pursuit of the dreams those deprived boys and girls held close to their chests but never dared to reveal to anyone for fear of rejection. How can a village boy or girl dream big let alone dream in the first place. Those are luxuries a teenager from a rural background can ill afford. I tell them geographical boundaries within India are meant for many purposes, linguistic differences being just one of them. I convince them that urban- rural classification should not deter them in their yearning to have a healthy, wealthy and educated life. Gone are the days when only the privileged class could dream of attaining stature in society.

Don't take NO for an answer, I keep telling them. Keep questioning. You have all the privileges no matter where you live. You have the right to education. But you must ask for that. You must not be cowed down by hollow threats. You are as intelligent as anyone from the urban towns. You must work hard. At the same time you must learn to imbibe the value system also. Respect for elders, compassion, discipline and selflessness to the society that took care of you are the virtues that would take you to your cherished goals. But dream you must and that alone would catapult you to the citadels of recognition.

Monday morning blues are not for us. Tell yourself you are beginning the beautiful journey of life on this beautiful Monday morning.
Keep smiling.

An Officer And A Catalyst

Ravindran DS

PGPPM 07,

D.S.Ravindran PGPPM 07 is a civil servant alright. Articulate, polite but firm and very learned. But in babudom, he is the exception and not the norm. This 1986 civil servant from the Indian Forest Service (IFS), from Karnataka Cadre carries

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D.S.Ravindran PGPPM 07 is a civil servant alright. Articulate, polite but firm and very learned. But in babudom, he is the exception and not the norm. This 1986 civil servant from the Indian Forest Service (IFS), from Karnataka Cadre carries a wide spectrum of experience: from exploring the majestic forests of South India to overseeing Karnataka's version of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) programme, Ravindran has done it all. Visit his profile
Ravindran joined PGPPM (Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management) because he "felt public policy is fascinating both from practice and conceptual perspective". "While I was trained to be a neoclassical economist during my PhD as a Commonwealth Scholar in University of Wales, Bangor, between 1994-98, my later experience of project implementation in the Government convinced me that neoclassical economics cannot answer or explain all the public policy decisions. Hence I was very keen to understand the nature and the process of public policy. An academic understanding of these would help a great deal to examine its applicability or practice in the actual, in the Government. Hence, I took the opportunity of a highly premature transfer (26 days) from a field posting in the Forest Department to pursue this programme," he explained.
For Ravindran who is a Carnatic and Hindustani music aficionado, his introduction to IIMB enriched him both personally and intellectually. "It was an opportunity to be a part of highly experienced civil service group, drawn from diverse professional and educational backgrounds. The group was a mature group in terms of experience and exposure to life and the travails of civil service," he said.
He further added that getting back to academics after about 10 years provided a great opportunity to reflect on the experiences of the administration using the filters/frameworks that the academics provided to understand the pith or the core. For him this opportunity and the effort were different, in many senses, from his school and college days, where according to him, "You get to study as against learning and gain deep understanding of the issues and complexities of life."
Describing the IIMB experience he added, "It was a great experience of practising and benefitting from three most important things:
Shravana: Listening to the scholars as well as the experiences of the faculty and participants
Chintana: Thinking and deep reflection on these in the context of one's own experiences, dogmas, beliefs, and;
Manana: Getting a deep understanding
This process also helped me to top the academic performance of the group."
Ravindran then got an opportunity to get back to forest department and "Ended up having an extremely satisfying experience of knowing the forests of Southern Karnataka as the Conservator of Forests, Working Plan, based in Mysore." Interestingly, Ravindran's job provided him opportunity to explore places that others would happily give an arm for. "The job provided me opportunity to walk extensively in the forests of Coorg, Mysore, Kollegal, Bangalore and Kolar looking at the nature of the forests, condition of forests and planning their management," he added. He also said that it was an intimate experience. No kidding, apart from spending time in the thick forests he also had extremely close encounters with the wildlife. "I had personal experience of face-to-face encounters with Tigers, five times! Other sightings included that of wolf, bear and number of other fauna," he added with a flourish.
Following his two years of stint in forests, he was posted to head eGovernance implementation in Karnataka, in the position of CEO, Centre for E Governance. "In this position, my responsibilities have included 'e-enabling Government ofKarnataka', by providing necessary core e-infrastructure such as data centre, networks and core applications. I am closely involved in assisting about 10 Government Departments in planning and implementing e mode of citizen service delivery," he explained. Ravindran is also in charge of UID enrolment in Karnataka, which has been initiated presently in two districts.
The government sector is known to be non transparent and riddled with corruption and other ills. Acutely aware of these negatives, Ravindran makes double the effort to not get sucked into the muck. "No doubt, there is lot of corruption and other ills that plague the Government functioning. Yet, one can still manage to overcome these challenges, if one maintains steadfast adherence to one's own core values and offering no compromise whatsoever on any grounds. There are number of officers in the Government with great integrity as well as commitment to work," he said.
He also points out that technology in Governance can go a long way in addressing the issues of red-tapism or corruption. "Technology can bring in great transparency and accountability in the Governance and also help deliver services in a more efficient way. Some of the best examples of use of technology or achieving better governance outcomes are inKarnataka. For example, citizen service delivery centres such as Bangalore One, Karnataka One, offer one stop shop for Government to citizen services, significantly saving time as well as transaction costs to citizens. Another leading initiative I am involved in is the e-procurement project, which offers a single unified platform for all the procurement in the Government. This enables all the tenders of the Government to be published on the web, with complete access to all the potential bidders and public on the details of the tender including the tender documents. Bidders have to submit the bids electronically and there is no manual or face to face transaction. One of the major outcomes of this process is the increased transparency, total security and confidentiality in bid submission, leading to higher competition. This has resulted in significant savings to Government through better price discovery. Today 72 Government Departments including some central organisations are procuring their need of works and services through this platform. During last year Rs. 22,000 Crores worth Government procurement was done through this platform, leading to savings of 2,000Crores. Thus technology is a great enabler in better governance," he explained.
This IFS officer from the Karnataka cadre unwinds by spending time with family, comprising his wife Roopalakshmi, a teacher of social sciences and languages at the National Public School, Indira Nagar and daughter, Sharvari doing her tenth standard. An avid reader he enjoys reading books that "help inward journey". "A book I am reading at present is 'You Forever' by Lobsang Rampa. My favourite books include Man's search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, Scientist's Search for Truth by Swami Virajeswara," he added.

Zealously pursuing academics and then implementing the same to infuse life in loss making organizations and making government agencies more transparent is what maketh a civil servant. Sanjeeb Kumar Patjoshi PGPPM '07 clearly fits the

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Zealously pursuing academics and then implementing the same to infuse life in loss making organizations and making government agencies more transparent is what maketh a civil servant. Sanjeeb Kumar Patjoshi PGPPM '07 clearly fits the bill. His insatiable thirst for knowledge propelled his journey from being a HCL Customer Engineer for a year after B Tech to being Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive in not one but three sectors in Kerala. The MD of Kerala State Films Development Corporation (KSFDC) is a native of Orissa who can speak fluent Malayalam and believes in making the terribly opaque government agencies as transparent and people-friendly as possible.
COMING TO IIMB:
In spite of drawing a good salary thanks to his All India Service job, Sanjeeb didn’t think twice before quitting it all to learn a thing or two about management theories. “It was more motivating and exciting for me to focus on studies and learning theories and applications of management," he narrated. This phase of being a student was different from his life as a B Tech and M Tech student where "I had some mental pressure of securing good job in campus selection or through competitive examinations of UPSC. With IIMB’s all learned faculties to teach with their vast academic experience and with my field experience, it was easy to correlate class room teaching to field applications in administration and management,” he added.
Impeccable teaching at IIMB was one of the many other aspects that he fondly remembers. "I admire all Professors, they would strictly conform to various deadlines for submission of assignments and also for methodical evaluation of our learning in various examinations without showing any concessions and ignoring our status of being senior government officers. I also admire them for making us study and learn like other regular non-sponsored students. Exposure to excellent academic system at Syracuse University USA was the icing on the cake," he said.
PREACH AND PRACTICE:
While being a student in IIMB, Sanjeeb categorically proved that he believes strongly in the adage, "Practice what you preach". In the begging of the course each participant was asked to make a presentation about the best work done in their field postings. "My presentation was about developing gardens in each office compound in Palghat District Police and how this step improved psychology, mindset and behaviour of all staff working in various police stations. I also commented about the then very bad foul smell emanating from uncovered sewage drain and the shabby look of front of IIMB main gate. This was taken seriously by attending faculties and was then relayed to IIMB administration. Now it has been done up nicely," he said.
IN PURSUIT OF ACADEMICS:
For Sanjeeb, the pursuit of knowledge did not end with his course in IIMB. Immediately after leaving IIMB he joined Ph D program in Entrepreneurship Development in Sambalpur University of Orissa. "On return to my cadre state, I was posted as Managing Director of Kerala Milk Federation for more than three years during which the organisation raked in substantial profit, a shift from its existing phase of loses. I owe this success to IIMB. I am also teaching in various academic institutions on honorary basis. IIMB teachings ingrained in me that any administrative and management decision need to be based on research and data, but not on any opinion or any previous experience," he pointed out
This alumnus proved his mettle as an administrator, by hitting a hatrick of sorts. He was posted as Managing Director and Chief Executive in three State Government public undertakings in three different sectors of Dairying, Road Transport and Cinema Development. He has also been conferred with a number of awards for his academic pursuits. "At National Dairy Conference, Goa in 2009, I presented a paper “Solving Naxalism through Dairying in India” which was liked very much by delegates of West Bengal and other naxal affected states. I got “Pride of India” award in 2009 at Bangalore for my contribution to dairy sector. On March 12, this year I was awarded by IIT Kanpur with Satyendra Dubey Memorial award for upholding human values and public service. I got “Leadership” award from IIM, Calicut in year 2009. I am also recipient of United Nations Medal in year 2001 at Kosovo, Europe. I have published four papers on Dairying in various journals. I have got two Good Service Entries, 25 Commendation/Appreciation letters in my IPS career."
MALICE CALLED CORRUPTION:
A civil servant clears many a hurdle before finally gracing top posts, but his battle does not end there. On the field there are some enemies that needs curbing, namely corruption, red tapism and the like. Sanjeeb is only too aware of these problems. "Corruption is an endemic and chronic disease among some people. It is my opinion that bureaucracy, in both public and private sectors, is mainly responsible for this widespread corruption in India by indulging in it, by not preventing it and by supporting unscrupulous political executives. If one remains honest for self, then down below in hierarchy, there will be reduction in corruption as per management concept of “Signalling''.
He further added, "Few examples of my deeds to overcome red tapism- 1. Removing display board at door of my office chamber mentioning visitors’ meeting time with the officer. How can a visitor from a distance know this timing for meeting any officer? Why should any visitor wait for long if he does not come to meet the officer within specified time? With Principal- Agent concept of management, officer is agent and visitor is principal. 2. Maintaining a file of meetings so that others understand clearly and fully. 3. First hand information from bottom of pyramid which prevents undesirable interpolations, falsehood, twisting of facts etc."
FROM ORISSA TO KERALA:
Interestingly this Orissa bred civil servant is as at home in Kerala as he is in his home town. "I am fully conversant in Malayalam language. In fact I got Kerala Government trophy for topping Malayalam examination at training academy; I got advance increments in salary for quick passing of Malayalam examinations, conducted by Kerala Public Service Commission. Hence there is no Malayalam language difficulty with me at all," he said.
CHILLING OUT:
When he is not busy ensuring the smooth running of Malayalam film industry or sorting out strategies to alleviate losses of the milk federation, Sanjeeb indulges in a good game of lawn tennis, table tennis, swimming in pool. "Of late, due to my present job as the MD for KSFDC am getting to watch many films and it has helped me develop my capabilities as a film critic, maybe for my future additional career," he added.
Sanjeeb presently residing in Kerala with his family that comprises, his parents, wife, son, daughter. "My father Sri Sebaranjan Patjoshi is retired Superintending Electrical Engineer from Orissa State Electricity Board. My mother Srimati Annapurna Patjoshi is housewife. Wife Mrs Kabita Patjoshi is alumnus of famous Sailabala College, Cuttack. Son Amit is now in 11th class in FIITJEE integrated school, Bangalore. Daughter Aditri is 4 years old whose birth in year 2007 became another degree for us along with IIMB’s PGPPM."

The King Of Swing Times

Randhir Mishra

FPM '01,

Randhir Mishra FPM 01, who could be the unheralded 'king of Swing times' from IIMB, has an interesting distinction to his name. He is one of the longest tenured students at the campus - Joining in 1993, Randhir left the campus only

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Randhir Mishra FPM 01, who could be the unheralded 'king of Swing times' from IIMB, has an interesting distinction to his name. He is one of the longest tenured students at the campus - Joining in 1993, Randhir left the campus only in 2002! During this almost decade long relationship with the Institute, Randhir's role was not one-dimensional. Along with being a student, he also enjoyed a short stint as a faculty and most importantly was a confidante and best friend to the many PGP students who came and went during his stay.
In the course of his studies at IIMB, Randhir shifted to UK for two years to pursue advance studies in Business Economics and then returned to campus. Speaking about his campus life he recalls, "I was very good friends with all the students. When I joined I really didn't have any batch mates and the PGP students wouldn't have viewed me as competition, so I would get to hear all the good, bad and ugly stories of the campus."
An interesting incident that still makes the 41-year-old chuckle was a prank that was played in the summer of 1995. "The incident took place during holi. The PGP placements and examinations were over and all were waiting for convocation." Randhir narrates, "To enjoy holi, we dug a pit right in front of our mess and filled it with a mixture of mud and colours. We would drag students in a 'cannot escape manner' and push them into the muddy pit. But the prank did not end there. We also mixed colour in the hostel water tanks. The students struggled out of the pit and ran to their bathrooms not knowing that the showers would also let out coloured water!"
Post IIMB, Randhir who has lived in almost 20 cities due to his father's transferable job, joined Satyam in 2002 in Chennai to set up one of the company's businesses there. Now he has taken up education as the sector of his focus and works with private players besides supporting a few NGOs in this space. But, in some years a different kind of calling started dominating his life - Golf!
Bitten by the Golf bug, instead of trying to fit in the existing golf academies, he decided to create one of his own. Initially, he was left clueless by the challenges that lay ahead of him. "One of the many challenges that a beginner faces is where to start, whom to approach for coaching and moreover many established courses seem extremely intimidating for beginners," he explained. He soon realized that there were many others who shared his apprehensions and this prompted him to start his own Golf resort. The result: 'Kadkani' a nine-hole golf course in idyllic Coorg, with a professional coach, which also doubles up as a full service resort.
The golf enthusiast also points out that it's never too early to take to golf. "One of my friends is passionate about golf and he kept forcing me to take Golf earlier. But I kept thinking that I am still very young to start Golf. Now when I look back I think I have made a mistake I should have learnt it 10 years back," said Randhir. One of his partners is another alumnus, Gopalkrishna Kulkarni PGP '95.
Randhir stays in Bangalore with his wife Pratima Mishra and three-year old daughter Manika Mishra.

It certainly is a rare achievement to be at the spearhead of one of the most prestigious projects of the country. Srinagesh Talatam PGP ’87 was right at the top as the CEO of the GMR Hyderabad International Airport, the first private

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It certainly is a rare achievement to be at the spearhead of one of the most prestigious projects of the country. Srinagesh Talatam PGP ’87 was right at the top as the CEO of the GMR Hyderabad International Airport, the first private airport in India. The project was first of its kind that was given onto private hands in India and several skeptical eyes were scrutinizing throughout on how this project unfolded. Many stakeholders were to be kept happy, a huge team of people were to be continually motivated towards a common goal, and above all the project had to be completed successfully. If one has braved all these and come out with flying colours, and of course not losing his sanity, it is nothing less than a landmark achievement.
“When I started the project, I hardly knew anything about airports. Even the Airports Authority of India was very sceptical about me and my team’s capability to achieve” recalls Srinagesh. Starting at this point, Srinagesh deluged himself into an action-packed tenure of learning and growth. He took charge of conceptualising the project components, handled the airport activities and lead departments including Finance, Project Structuring & Development, Business Planning, Company Secretariat function, Operations and Project Management and Clearances. From among all these, the function that Srinagesh thinks was the most critical was the people function. His challenge and success was in finding the right people and aligning them to the greater goal of this landmark project. The project required him and the entire team to shun their short term goals, forget reservations about financial returns and work with a futuristic mind. This was a test of Srinagesh’s leadership skills and he did it with amazing aptitude. As he intently worked on the project he was able to bring absolute clarity to the operations. He got the views of experts from across the world, thought through every minute requirement that the airport would have and got just about everything to build the finest infrastructure for the Airport. His entire term was dedicated to make the Hyderabad Airport one that the world will acclaim to be among the best. And he achieved it in style with a 105,300 sq.m terminal constructed, with the current capacity to handle 12 million passengers in a year and a potential capacity to handle over 40 million passengers.
Srinagesh says “I remember learning during my PGP that people should have an emotional connect and alignment with the vision for a project to succeed and I realised this in the airport project. The success depends on every one doing his bit in a dedicated way and it is impossible to do this with a top down approach. With divergent people coming in, getting the right emotional connect and alignment among the people I worked with is probably my best achievement and learning.”
This indeed seems like an exhaustive experience that one could ever get in his career. After the Hyderabad Airport project and his prior experience at the implementation of the Neyveli 250 MW project in Tamil Nadu, Srinagesh says he has probably seen every difficulty that one can face in a project and learnt from them all. Today, after completing an eventful five year term as CEO of the Hyderabad Airport, he serves as the CEO of Pragnya Advisors Private Ltd (PAL); a management company for the Mauritius based Prganya Fund (PF) focusing on opportunities for investment in real estate in India and Sri Lanka.
Throughout his career Srinagesh has been deeply involved in high profile projects that consumed the lion’s share of his time. He says thanks to the Indian family system that his wife Geeta and daughter Sandhya were more than understanding about his highly demanding career.

He has been in the jungles of Sri Lanka, deputed on behalf of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. He lead a typical James Bond style operation to rescue a businessman’s little son from his kidnappers in Manipur. He has flown and sky-dived

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He has been in the jungles of Sri Lanka, deputed on behalf of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. He lead a typical James Bond style operation to rescue a businessman’s little son from his kidnappers in Manipur. He has flown and sky-dived from high above, being part of the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army. To top it all, he is a PGP and FPM from IIMB and runs a niche outsourcing business! Meet Ravi Bangari –who will awe you with inspiring anecdotes every minute he speaks.
Ravi is a special alumnus of IIMB. Apart from all his academic achievements, Ravi is special because he is someone who has probably stayed the longest on campus, compared to xany other student; the reason being his army engagements. He came in as a PGP student after a life changing experience in Sri Lanka; remember the stint of Indian Peace Keeping Force duringRajiv Gandhi’s times? Having been through intense counter-insurgency and peace-keeping operations, he felt he needed to put it all in perspective so as to do his job better and more usefully in the larger context. He got the urge to learn management and thus came to IIMB. On various occasions during his PGP, he was called back by the army for emergency operations. Ravi laughs and says, “The faculty, the security guards, the drivers and hostel caretakers will definitely remember me for the longevity of my stay at the campus!”
After his PGP, Ravi went back to serve the army with a different leadership and management perspective. His army career saw great heights until an air crash in Ladakh, while flying a small powerchute in an adventure expedition, left him badly injured. But you’d be completely wrong if you thought that this soldier was going to take rest and recuperate. Soon as he came to in the Army hospital in Delhi, Ravi got busy filling up his application form for his FPM from IIMB! He says, “One of the thoughts that came to me when the realization dawned about what had happened was, ‘Let me look forward now and, so, what next?’” The following events were inevitably dramatic; he couldn’t attend the interview on time, faculty interviewers had to give him special consideration for him to make it to the interview and what not. Of course, IIMB couldn’t afford to miss this man with extraordinary spirit for life!
Now it was time to walk the civvy street, after being released on grounds of medical disability. But Ravi couldn’t compromise on anything that was ordinary. He got himself associated with EduMetry, a company that is into a very unique stream of business. At EduMetry, Ravi and his team support a whole host of Universities of the West in the assessment and evaluation of their students. Not many Universities would trust an external organization to do such a core and critical task. Ravi is extremely proud about the fact that his organization has been able to establish strong credibility and got the confidence of these Universities and their faculty through their hard work. He keeps telling his team, “Let’s be sincere in what we are doing and we can achieve world class standards in what we do”.
A striking aspect of EduMetry’s business is its vision to tap the talent of women who have given up their mainstream careers. Ravi saw when he was in the army that many of his colleagues’ wives were highly qualified but could not pursue a full-time career further due to family commitments. He strongly felt that there is huge opportunity in tapping the talents of these women. He then conceptualized a part-time remote work model that would engage qualified women from different parts of the country. It is an enriching experience for many women and their commitment to make things happen worked really well for EduMetry. The company is on a great stride and Ravi looks forward to empower many more people through this initiative.
Throughout his adventurous times, he had his wife and two young kids supporting him. His wife, Vandana, a post-graduate in textile and clothing, is now aMontessorian in Bangalore. His two sons, Adhiviraj and Anshumaan, are an amazing duo who take part in anything that they can lay their hands on.

The Change Leader

Praveen Sood

PGPPM '05,

A beautiful city with a calm and serene lifestyle suddenly outgrew itself to become the software hotspot of the world. Bangalore saw tremendous development and over the years its traffic concerns aggravated beyond endurance. It is in the

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A beautiful city with a calm and serene lifestyle suddenly outgrew itself to become the software hotspot of the world. Bangalore saw tremendous development and over the years its traffic concerns aggravated beyond endurance. It is in the middle of this chaos that Praveen Sood took charge in 2008 as the Traffic Police Commissioner of Bangalore city. Challenges galore!
No one expected anything to change like always. But Praveen had the drive to make things happen and induce a positive feel to the work of the city’s traffic police force. This IIT and IIMB graduate introduced policies and initiatives that have started to change things at the grassroot level. He shook the conservative style of working and introduced a friendly management approach. Praveen and his team have kicked off many campaigns like ‘Unblock Bangalore’, ‘Car pooling’, ‘My driver was a drunkard’ (against drunken driving) that have become popular with the Bangalore public. He has effectively used technology in traffic management which has made a great difference to the way this office functioned. One of the greatest achievements of the Traffic Police under Praveen Sood’s leadership is that the rate of fatal accidents in Bangalore has come down by 15%. The public looks up to him and there is again a hope that things can change for the better for Bangalore traffic.
It’s all about perspective and this perspective change in him came with his education at IIMB, says Praveen Sood. In a conscious decision to shrug off the monotony that had crept into his 16 year tenure with the Police Department, Praveen decided to widen his horizon as an individual and as a professional. He joined the IIMB and feels that this was one of the best decisions he has taken in his life.
Praveen Sood PGPPM '05 (Post Graduate Program for Public Policy Management), came to IIMB taking a break from his police career. Learning was absolute fun says Praveen with a beaming smile. He enjoyed his life as a student completely cut off from the frills attached to being a police officer. He also joyfully recollected how his two school going daughters took pleasure at their father being busy preparing assignments while they had homework to do.
Praveen Sood came back to police service in 2005 with a new outlook and understanding of things. Praveen’s work style involved innovation, meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, unlearning the bad things and achieving the impossible which were never heard of in police environment. Yes, he still has the herculean task to revive the city from its bad traffic, but there is definitely hope. The ground work has begun.
In the midst of his demanding job he stills find time to enjoy movies with his wife and kids, play some golf and swim.
Praveen Sood is a man of breakthrough innovation, ideas and great forethought. His vision for his traffic office is to transform from within, introduce permanent sustainable changes and create a work culture that will carry on irrespective of his service term at this office. Heartfelt wishes from IIMB to this incredible public servant!

Standing Tall

Shobha Moni

PGP ‘85Co-founder,Triad Software Services

For nearly twenty-five years, Shobha Moni, PGP ‘85 has been embedded in the world of information technology, and certainly ranks as one of India’s woman pioneers in the IT space. From the days of COBOL programming to the latest

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For nearly twenty-five years, Shobha Moni, PGP ‘85 has been embedded in the world of information technology, and certainly ranks as one of India’s woman pioneers in the IT space. From the days of COBOL programming to the latest web technologies, she’s seen it all.
Today, as an entrepreneur in her own right, Shobha, in partnership with her husband R S Moni, runs Triad Software Services, an award-winning Sage partner based in Dubai. Triad offers services in Application Development, ERP and CRM solution deployment, besides consulting and support.
After graduating from IIMB, Shobha joined HCL Network and then worked with Computer Point, and Wipro. The year 1988 brought a major transition in life and work: Shobha got married, moved to the Middle East and took up an assignment with Qatar Telecommunications, based out of Doha. The learning curve was steep – operating in Gulf in those days required a change in mindset, from a ‘corporate’ manner of functioning to a more entrepreneurial style, certainly adding depth and dimension to managerial experience. The first baby steps to becoming an entrepreneur were taken and a training centre was set up in Doha.
Shobha and her family moved to Dubai in 1993 at a time when Dubai was booming and the business infrastructure was evolving rapidly, offering new opportunities. As the first employee of Global Technology Services she spearheaded the setting up and growth of an IT solutions company for a Dubai Government entity. She then moved on to Satyam Computer Services as General Manager, looking after their business development in the Middle East for Tier 1 software solutions from Oracle and SAP.
In January 2005, Shobha teamed up with her husband to start Triad with a view to offering mid-tier business houses a strong suite of technology products with a business focus. She brings to the table her cumulative networking experience in the region and supports the company on business development, while her husband complements with his background as a Chartered Accountant and drives delivery. Together, they have embraced change, and thrive on the freedom and opportunities that come with being entrepreneurs.
Shobha has two boys, the elder now studying at the University of Waterloo in Canada, and the younger in Class XI in Dubai. “Triad is our third baby! The thrill and gratification of seeing your company grow is the same as having a baby,” says Shobha.
In between managing work and family, Shobha has also kept up her interests in public speaking, oil painting and classical music. She was the President of Emirates Toastmasters Club in 2006, has received an Excellence Award for Women in UAE from Dhwani, and has even exhibited her paintings at the Sharjah National Gallery.
Looking back at the two years at IIMB, Shobha feels that those years were incredibly valuable. At 21 years, she was the youngest to graduate in her batch, which meant intensive learning and picking up survival skills! “The best part is that you make friends for life. There is a strange bond that connects every IIM alumni. We are able to network across the world, and meet up when we travel to their part of the world, even at short notice.
“It is important for us to take time off from our busy schedules and give back to the institution that nurtured us. When I visit IIMB and talk to students it is so satisfying to connect and mentor eager, brilliant minds poised to take off from where we were before. I wish IIMB faculty and students a glorious future,” says Shobha.